The Portland daily press., 1887-01-01
PRISON LABOR.

The subject of prison labor has heen
brought prominently to the attention of the
people Of our State lately by the complaint of
private manufacturers that State prison made
carriages are seriously injuring their bush
ness The remarks, therefore, of the Prison
inspectors and the warden in their annual
reports on this subject will be of interest
The inspectors say:
There are four methods of employment. viz. :
Under Contract, Under Lease. Piece Price Plan
and On State Account. Nearly all of the North
ern States are adopting the latter as being the
best In comparing the management Of the Maine
State Prison with other prisons in the country we
ma no plan that has been, or is nOw so satisfac-
tory in results as the working of convcts on State
cry. Doing the work by hand enables the convict
10 obtain good practicable trade, and does not
put upon the market but small amount of manu-
factured goods, thus competing only in a small de-
gree with labor outside. That the convict must
labor, Is settled, he pattst. That he should work
judges. Now, what shall he do? We say do that
which can be made better by hand than by ma
chinery and doseyeral kinds of work, SO that no
one trade outsideshall feel the full effect of the
product which may be put upon the market.
About one-quarter of the number of the convicts
mere are placed in the harness shop, where they
are taught the trade in all of its details (if the
sentence be long enough and the party capable of
SO aolng). The remainder of the working force is
divided among the several departments as fol
lows: In the wood shop, where a good trade at
the use of carpenters fools can be Obtained: in
the blacksmith shop where a trade in working
where they can learn the art of mixing paints and
spreading the same, and in the trimming shop,
trimmed e "i'
About one-tenth of the force at the Prison are
M neps "a 1slsoh dutes, from which no income in
Lhe manufactured articles is obtained. There are
nye distinct trades here taught harness making
WOOD working blaeksmithng painting and car
rage trimming. To one of these trades the CON
Wet is placed when he enters the Prison. and 60
tne one TO which he Is best adapted, and in as
snort Time as the apprentice outside learns a
Iaue, the convict becomes good w0rkman-for
ais services are wholly given to that trade no
ost time, and no outside influences to take his
ATTENTION from his business. The trade which he
earns here IS of value to him when he leaves the
trlson, and If he will may gain an honest living
But suppose the trade here obtained was of no
value, and like the chalrb0ttomng trade could not
pc followed except In some penal Institution then
ne goes back into society with the brand Of ex-
CONVEY upon him, with no money, no friends and
no uade, ana ne enters the same haunts from
whence be came and, by the force of circum-
stances, retuns 10 the same level, or even lower
ana Justice overtakes him and he again finds him.
We believe 1t should be the policy of the State to
nave all OF lts institutions wherever located use
all tne goods That they need, that are manlIfac-
tured In the State institutions on State account
80 much OF the production would be consumed
Mlth WHO oelng put on the market to compete with
recommend that the State use its own msnufac-
tured goods rather,than appropratelmoneylto buy
shop in 1885, all convict labor thai could be- nsed
10 advantage was made use Of and the building
one hundred and sixty feet long by fifty feet III
completion. was built for less than the appropria
ton, which was $500 Other buildings must soon
pelrepalred or new ones built, and we recommend
LnaI such convicts as cannot be pro1tably EN-
ployed IN the harness or carriage department be
worked IN preparing the site for the new harness
50 when hhns es ss6n portion S Of the
permanent foundation. This labor could nearly
all be done by conyIcts.
1t will be seen that the inspectors start
with the premise that he convict must work.
The sounfIess Of that nobody will under
take 20 gainsay. II our State prisons were
simply penal institutions, and the States
only object in sending criminals there was to
punish them then they might be set to
work in tread mill or at breaking stone or
some other non-productive labor. But peni-
tentiaries are established to reform the Grim
inal as well as to punish him, and the prime
essential of his reform is that he be put in
possession of the means of gaining an hon.
est livelihood. He must be taught, therefore,
to do something that people want done, or to
make something that people need; so that
when he is discharged he will have the
means of earning his living. It's inevitable
that in this process the product Of his labor,
shall come into competition with similar
products OF free labor outside the prison.
This undoubtedly involves some hardship to
private manufacturers, but it cannot be en-
tirely avoided unless the product Of prison
labor be destroyed, wasteful policy which
= be defended for moment. The
teal question is, therefore, how to
competition as harmless as posi-